How do I purchase an airline ticket through one of our contracted travel agencies?

Travelers may get information on flight availability and prices by phoning a contracted travel agent, visiting in person, or visiting the contracted travel agency's website. If satisfied with the travel arrangements, a reservation can be made. However, a ticket will not be ordered or charged to the university until the contracted travel agency receives the faxed Air Ticket Requisition.

An Air Ticket Requisition is created through the Web Travel System in AccessPlus. Only persons authorized by the department chair will have this capability.

When you complete an Air Ticket Requisition, please remember to click the Fax command to send the fax to the contracted agency. When you create an Air Ticket Requisition, you are entering an encumbrance on the fund account numbers listed.

If you are ordering a "consolidator" ticket for a foreign destination, even our contracted agencies may request payment by a voucher rather than an Air Travel Requsition.

Do I need to obtain comparative quotes from both agencies?

No. Comparative quotes are not necessary when using the two contracted agencies. If you prefer to use one agency consistently, you may do so.

Does the university recommend one of the contracted agencies over another?

No. For several years we had a sole travel agency, but now both of the contracted agencies should be viewed as equals.

How will tickets be delivered by the contracted travel agencies?

STA Travel and Travel & Transport deliver tickets to several designated locations on campus. A complete list is available on the Air Ticket Requisition screen in the Web Travel System. CentralRez will send tickets by overnight mail upon request.

What happens if I need to reschedule a trip for which a ticket has already been purchased?

Increased ticket costs due to rescheduling fees or changed dates can be covered by faxing a revised Air Travel Requsition to a contracted travel agency, providing the changes were for a business (rather than a personal) reason. If the original airline ticket already has been billed to your account, you will be required to create a new Travel Event Number and fax a new Air Ticket Requisition rather than revising the original Air Ticket Requisition. Please see the detailed instructions for using the Air Ticket Requisition system at http://www.ats.iastate.edu/vpbf/accounting/webtravel/createatr.html If the ticket price increases due to changes for personal (rather than business) reasons, the traveler should charge the increase to his/her personal credit card.

What alternatives do I have if I want to use another travel agency?

If you are not satisfied with the quote from the first contracted travel agency, you can check with the other agency.

International travelers who choose to use "consolidator" tickets can obtain these "consolidator" tickets either from one of the contracted agencies or from another vendor. When making advance payments to consolidators or travel agencies other than our contracted agencies, travelers are cautioned to ensure the reliability of the firm they are dealing with. The traveler has little recourse to recover funds if the agency defaults on the delivery of the tickets.

Departments can process a voucher payable to the consolidator or other travel agency for international flights without obtaining approval from Purchasing or attaching comparative quotes.

Effective July 1, 2002, travelers are allowed to use their personal credit cards or American Express Corporate Cards to purchase tickets from Internet sites. Reimbursement for personal funds used to purchase airline tickets will not be made until the conclusion of the trip. No travel advances will be issued to facilitate the purchase of air tickets. If you are using federal funds, you MUST comply with the Fly America Act.

Acceptable documentation for air ticket claims on a Web Travel Reimbursement includes the Passenger Receipt coupon or a copy of the E-ticket confirmation showing the amount paid. International air tickets require a secondary proof of payment (e.g., a copy of the credit card statement), as the amount printed on the ticket often is higher than the amount paid. If the price paid for the ticket differs from the amount shown on the ticket coupon, the traveler must submit no more than the actual cost for reimbursement.

When comparing quotes between different sources, be sure to have identical itineraries and to obtain quotes on the same date. Airfares fluctuate several times during the day, so the closer the times the quotes were received, the more reliable they will be.

What guidelines are available to determine if travel is being conducted in a cost-efficient manner?

The following guidelines are intended to assist departments in determining if travel was conducted in a cost-efficient manner. These practices are consistent with federal and state travel policies, as well as those of many large corporations.

1.) Tickets purchased should be the lowest cost commercial airfare. The university may consider absorbing slightly higher cost associated with flying on the lowest cost major airline as opposed to flying on an unknown carrier, however, the federal government will not. For our purposes "major airlines" would include American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest, United, and USAir.

2.) Tickets should be booked thirty (30) days in advance if possible, fourteen (14) days at the latest. Lack of prior planning should not be a valid excuse when requesting reimbursement for higher cost tickets.

3.) Travelers should consider pricing flights which depart within two hours on either side of their preferred departure time or which depart at during normal business hours while on paid travel status, provided such departure times do not adversely effect required arrival windows.

4.) Departments should consider using the university's preferred travel vendor(s) before looking elsewhere for tickets. While "special" fares sound tempting, our experience has shown that fewer that 1 in 4 fares which have been represented as being less costly than those provided by our contract agency actually were. Questions or comments concerning the university travel contract should be addressed to the Purchasing Department, Al Brooks at 294-7040.

5.) When faculty and staff travel in conjunction with personal vacation, the following standards should apply:


a) The business portion of the travel is justified.
b) The travel agent has provided a written estimate outlining the costs for the business portion of the trip.
c) When vacation or personal requirements cause indirect routing, cost of the direct route required for ISU business was compared and documented.
d) University or Federal policy requirements for travel were met for those segments of the trip identified as business related.

6.) Before requesting tickets or pricing from travel agencies other than the university's two contracted agencies, travelers need to be aware of the following:

a) There are no national or international standards which regulate or test the proficiency of travel agencies, consolidators, or ticket brokers.
b) The name of an agency does not indicate whether or not that agency is a travel agency, consolidator, or a ticket broker. There are legal differences between the three which determine the type of service provided and liability in case of default.
c) Many states also do not regulate or require proficiency standards for travel agencies. Iowa only requires a registration fee, to do business as a travel agency.
d) Lack of regulation implies that travelers should exercise caution when dealing with agencies that are not familiar.
e) The Purchasing Department has very limited options to assist you if a travel agency or consolidator, not under contract with ISU, should default on its obligations.


Travelers who have questions about an agency they would like to utilize, should contact one of the following travel associations to see if the agency is registered. Please note these are associations only, and travel agencies, consolidators, and brokers can operate legally without belonging to an association.

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC)
1530 Wilson Blvd, Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22209-2448
Tel: (703) 816-8000
Fax: (703) 816-8104
www.arccorp.com

American Society of Travel Agents
100 Second Street East
Whitefish, MT 59937
Phone 1-800-826-0042
Fax: (406) 862-6954
www.astanet.com

International Air Transport Association
2000 Peel St.
Montreal, PQ, H3A 2R4 CANADA
Tel: (514) 844-6311
Fax: (514) 844-8657

Association of Retail Travel Agents
ARTA Headquarters
501 Darby Creek Rd. Suite 47
Lexington, KY 40509
TEL: (606) 263-1194
FAX: (606) 264-0368
1-800-969-6069
www.artaonline.com

Air Transport Association of America
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20004-1707
(202)-626-4000
www.air-transport.org

Pacific Asia Travel Association
1 Montgomery Street, Telesis Tower, Suite 1000
San Francisco, CA 94104, USA
TEL: (415) 986-4646
FAX: (415) 986-3458
www.pata.org

Return to Travel Information Homepage

Last Updated: January 18, 2006.